Wednesday, April 2, 2014

May I Come In : Reny's Nautical Abode

You remember that time
when the height of cool was remembering the “My Heart Will Go On” lyrics
verbatim, or trying the Titanic pose every time you are on a ferry boat or any
boat or near water or just because there are 2 of you? I, actually, went through a phase from 1997-2002
where I believed I will meet the temporary love of my life (come-on I will not marry a hippie for crying out loud!!) with casual wind-swept hair, talking to me about art and living for the moment (home loans be damned!!), on a ship.
Then came the Internet revolution and this whole “mistakes in the movie TITANIC”kinda extensive researches, Leo’s (yeah I can call him that) conscious
departure from cute-boyish to serious-rugged style, it all made me sigh and move
on. My love for the vast open ocean and the dream of a cruise trip is still
intact, though. So imagine my thrill when I get to meet Reny who shares the same
love, actually more, much much more. So much more that when it came to building his house, he built it totally around the look of a ship’s interior.

Come along with us as
we take a tour of our very first theme-based home. Let me first properly
introduce Reny. Reny Joseph, who works in the Merchant Navy, is the proud owner of this nautical themed
home, along with his lovely wife Reena . He claims
the ocean to be his first, oops, second (sorry Reena) love and with a man
totally smitten, he displayed his love in his home. The theme has been
played along with a lot of usage of sturdy wood, glimpse of which you receive
as soon as you enter. The first thing you notice is the massive wooden door with
the glass cut-outs making the sun-light do a jig of their own. I am actually
imagining a tail-coat wearing door-man opening it for me with Celine Dion
providing the background score (I am still at –it with my Titanic references –
Gawwdd I am stuck in the 90s!!).

Enter and you will be
thrilled to see this boat shaped seat, it’s sooooo pretty that it deserves some
serious petting. It also doubling up as a functional shoe-rack, only adds to
its charm.

Go forward and you will meet the pièce de ré·sis·tance of the house in
this central square vestibule which totally gives you the feeling of the ocean
under your feet. The lovely blue color, the mosaic pillars around and the big
Jesus frame gives it a very surreal outer-body vibe.

Anyone else falling in love with the chandelier??

This is how it looks,
right above the water vestibule, if this is not awesome, I don’t know what is.

If you thought the
thematic representation ends here, then you are yet to see the staircase. Rings
a bell??

It has been designed just like that of a ship and leads to the upper
deck,oops floor. Even the ceiling around the water vestibule has a wooden
ladder design, totally nailing the theme. Also love the tiered pendant lights

Right above the dining table, the ceiling boasts of some major TLC. I am absolutely in love with those dual colored light fixture completely owning the dining area from up above. Also I love how Reny has actually implemented his ideas on beautifying the ceiling, something we mostly neglect.

Even with the furniture they have gone the ship-like minimalist route with
all leather upholstery, solid wood and stark colors.

Can the knick-knacks and accessories be untouched by the theme, like this ship steer-like clock adding a perfect mini-punch.

To get rid of an
over-dose of the nautical theme and avoid a bout of sea-sickness (joke, ha ha),
Reny’s parents took charge and steered the ship towards Egypt, in the bathroom.
Going for all modern fixtures, they added a twist in the wash-basin and the wall
tiles. The carving on the Wash basin and the tiles are nothing short of sheer
genius.

Now comes the best
part, let’s play favorites. I am absolutely Leonardo-teenage-crush like in love with the Boat shaped seating and the central vestibule. What about you, tell us
your favorite via the comment section. Will you ever build a house around a
theme, if yes then what will be that theme? Tell us all, until next time, happy decorating :).

P.S. : Do you
have a home or a corner of your home that you would like to share, right here
on this blog? Submit your story and some photos to housefliesanonymous@gmail.com.